Tribute To The Stars Autographs Set Checklist

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Topps is encouraging collectors that opened a sealed box of 2012 Topps Tribute Baseball and received a TRIBUTE TO THE STARS AUTOGRAPHED CARD to send the card to Topps to receive a pack of 2011 Bowman Sterling Baseball (2 Autographs and 1 Relic). Each card will be verified (via sequential numbering) and can only be submitted once. The card will be returned with the pack of Bowman Sterling. More information can be found here.

2012 Topps Tribute Baseball is the first premium baseball product of the year. With its mirror foil finish, it's bound to be one of the shiniest as well. Although there's plenty of current stars, the Tribute line does a good job of emphasizing past stars as well. Willie Mays returns to the set this year, joining Topps' tremendous stable of Hall of Famers. The Giants great will have both on-card autographs and memorabilia cards in the set. This year, all autographs and memorabilia cards are numbered to 99 or less. 2012 Topps Tribute is a hit-per-pack product, split evenly between signatures and relics. Each six-pack box promises three on-card autographs and three memorabilia cards.

2012 Topps Tribute Baseball Product Review

Good: 2012 Topps Tribute is one of the most attractive sets collectors can get their hands on, all autographs and relics are encased, nearly all autographs are on-card.

Bad: The checklist doesn't live up to the high standard 2011 Topps Tribute set.

The Bottom Line: As beautiful as the set is, the weak checklist hurts. Collectors may better off buying singles for their personal collections.

Staff Rating:

3.9 / 5.0

Card Design: 4.5/5.0

The 2012 Topps Tribute design is next to flawless. The base cards and parallels are clean and easy on the eye. Although the bronze parallels have the highest print run (#/299), they are the best looking of the bunch. Their antique look fits with the overall theme of the set.

A big upgrade in 2012 is the encasing of all autograph and relic cards. Following in the steps of some of Panini's high-end sets and harkening back to several years ago with the Topps Pristine line, among others, 2012 Topps Tribute autographs and relics come in a snap case sealed with a Topps Tribute sticker. In fact, even redemption cards come encased this way.

The set's relic cards are tastefully done, though the Triple Threads-style relics with phrases like "The Hammer" for Josh Hamilton, seem out of place. The 2012 Topps Tribute autographs look nice, giving enough space for signatures without running into the subject matter of the cards. The only overly busy designs in the set are found in the Tribute to the Stars autographs, which also come with sticker autographs.

Checklist: 2.5/5.0

In a product that presents itself as a legends-based set, hobbyists who ripped into boxes or cases may be left wondering who Topps is actually paying tribute to in 2012. Sure, collectors may get lucky and pull a Willie Mays or Ken Griffey Jr. autograph (both redemptions, by the way), but they are more likely to be staring at a stack of encased and visually stunning cards of Jemile Weeks or Nathan Eovaldi. The ratio of legends to current-player hits has dropped from 2011, which is disappointing.

Value: 3.5/5.0

Hobbyists likely know the risks of busting high-end products. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. However, how does Topps go from hitting a home run with 2011 Topps Tribute to irking many collectors in 2012? Did encasing the hits raise costs so much that they had to dilute the checklist and secondary market appeal so much?

The Fun Factor: 4.0/5.0

As many high-end products move to single-pack boxes, 2012 Topps Tribute still gives collectors the enjoyment of busting multiple packs. The opportunity to see a legend like Mays or Roberto Clemente looking back at you is what Topps Tribute is all about. It's understandable why collectors are willing to spend top-dollar for that chance, but they also need to beware, your wallet may benefit from snagging up singles rather than boxes.

Ryan Cracknell | E-Mail AuthorRyan is a former member of The Cardboard Connection Writing Staff.
His collecting origins began with winter bike rides to the corner store, tossing a couple of quarters onto the counter and peddling home with a couple packs of O-Pee-Chee hockey in his pocket. Today, he continues to build sets, go after inserts with cool technologies, chase Montreal Expos and finish off his John Jaha master collection.

User Reviews

Good: All the cards are rare in a sense. Few base cards and lots of numbered cards. All autographs and memorabilia cards are numbered to 99 or less. They’re also encapsulated, which prevents any foul moves by pack searchers. It also makes the cards more secure and limits the risk of damage coming out of the box. On-card autographs run throughout much of the set. 2012 Topps Tribute has a great checklist of all-time greats ranging from Sandy Koufax, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Don Mattingly, Roger Maris, Stan Musial, Edgar Martinez, and more.

Bad: While the retired stars are great, the overall selection of players could be better. For such a high-end product, there seems to be a lot of players that just don’t belong. This is no disrespect to those players, but I don’t see many collectors being satisfied with some of the pulls they may end up having when they spend so much on a box of 2012 Topps Tribute.

The Bottom Line: 2012 Topps Tribute is a product for those who like to take big risks with the possibility of an even bigger reward. If you are comfortable spending the money on a box of Topps Tribute and taking your chances with what you may get, than this is the product for you. It offers something for both the set collector and the hit seeker.

Staff Rating: 4.5/5.0

Card Design: 5.0/5.0
I’m a big fan of the design. The card stock is thick and the cards have a gloss that makes them pop off when you take a good look at them. It’s refreshing to see something different on many of the designs. Again, any set with so many on-card autographs is great.

Checklist: 3.5/5.0
Topps Tribute has a 100-card base set that features only the top players in the game and some of the greatest players from the past. As I mentioned earlier, some of the players for the autograph and relic sets don’t belong in such a high-end product, but overall, it’s a solid checklist.

Value: 4.0/5.0
Every box guarantees six hits. As mentioned before, this is a high risk, high reward product. However, you might get a mid-level player. If you want to play it safe, this probably isn’t the product for you. However, if you are a risk taker, then this is a must-buy.

The Fun Factor: 4.0/5.0
With only six packs per box and one premium card coming in each pack, 2012 Topps Tribute is a blast to open. There aren’t a ton of cards per box, so the excitement stays throughout the entire box. The card designs are solid and all the hits come encased in a sealed snap tight holder.

My favourite product of 2012 is Tribute Baseball they cards look amazing and its nice how each autograph/relic comes with a magnetic holder to keep the cards safe.
I am entering the contest for the 4 hobby boxes thanks

I would give it a 3.8 / 5. I am biased, as I am not a risk-taker, nor am I a deal-maker. I’m just a collector. So my star rating is biased. Other than what the staff and non-troll users have said, I do like the limited numbers of these, and the limited number of inserts. Parallels are still a bit much.